Sneaking up on Another Record Breaking Year
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The Sons of The American Legion Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage P.O. Box 1055 PAID THE NATIONAL UPDATE Indianapolis, IN 46206 AMERICAN LEGION Official Publication of the Sons of The American Legion Spring 2013 Sneaking up on another Still time to hop on the Bandwagon record breaking year By Raymond Jarvis Nat’l Membership Chairman Only a few, short weeks remain before Our bandwagon is on the move By Larry “Bear” Weinzirl the close of another administrative year and Houston bound. We’re seek- Nat’l Children/Youth Chairman for the Child Welfare Foundation. Any do- ing out 105 percent in membership nations that will be counted yet this year must reach the National Head- by July 24. That’s 30 days prior to quarters by the close of business on Friday, May 31. our National Convention. All-time S.A.L. donations to the CWF now total over $5 million. Our How will we reach this goal? slogan this year is “Just for Kicks, Let’s Go for Six.” We are also request- The easiest way is to renew all ing support of Operation Military Kids, Temporary Financial Assistance, of our members. Traditionally our Children’s Miracle Network, Ronald McDonald House, Child Safety National renewal rates are around Program, Special Olympics, Children’s Organ Transplant Association, 87 percent, give or take a little. Family Support Network, Josh Dogs and other programs that benefi t our That means that we are losing Children and Youth. approximately 35,000 to 40,000 Total donations from the Sons of The American Legion to Children & members each year who do not re- 8 Youth programs last year totaled over $9 million. Our goal for this year is new. $10 million. From all indications, we are well on our way to reaching this There are a variety of reasons House. She was housed in one of activities and report them annually. goal. Also, please remember to fi ll out your Consolidated Report Form. Crescendo from Page 2 for this. 30 rooms in the facility, 29 of which Yes, we do assist our veterans The majority of all Squadrons and Detachments do something for C&Y A lot of our members move opened in Pittsburgh back in De- were occupied. As you can imagine, every day. May 18 is the suggested and it is extremely important that we capture these donations and hours. and leave no forwarding address. cember and another just opened there’s a continued need for expan- date for the S.A.L. National Veter- The children of our country are our greatest natural resource. My fa- Parents or grandparents pay for in San Antonio in March. More sion of existing facilities and future ans Assistance Day. Make it a date vorite quote is, “Fifty years from now it won’t matter the type of house houses will be built in other states, construction throughout the nation. our veterans will never forget. Do I lived in, the make of car I drove, or the amount of Continued on Page 3 just as soon as we raise the money In addition to raising money for something special for one or more money I had in my bank account. But the world may needed. I encourage you to visit a food and supplies needed, S.A.L. of them that day. Use your imagi- be better because I made a difference in the life of a Fisher House. Seeing is believing. members can also help their near- nation and be creative. Just being child.” I accepted an invitation to visit est Fisher House by reaching out to there may be all that’s needed. As the Fisher House in Minneapolis volunteer. you will read elsewhere in this edi- Fisher House hits milestone earlier this year and met with the Whether your actions are aimed tion of the newsletter, there are The nation’s 60th Fisher House was opened in late coordinators. On that cold, winter at Fisher House or Child Welfare some squadrons that choose to ob- March in San Antonio at the South Texas Veterans day I was fortunate to talk with or any other American Legion pro- serve our National Veterans Assis- Health Care System. Since the fi rst one opened 22 a temporary resident, a woman gram, make sure your squadron’s ef- tance Day on other dates - at least years ago, more than 180,000 veterans and their fam- named Sue. She informed me that forts are noted when submitting the one of them waits and does it in ilies have been served by Fisher Houses. her husband was receiving needed annual Consolidated Report Form. I June. That’s perfectly fi ne! With the completion of this newest facility, all care nearby and would remain hos- cannot stress enough the importance Thank you for what you do for VA hospitals with polytrauma rehabilitation centers - pitalized for several weeks. Due to of making sure the Consolidated the Sons of The American Legion there are fi ve such centers in the country that treat the the fi nancial burden, Sue would Report is fi lled out and submitted. and The American Legion Family. most critically wounded - are now being served by a not have been able to be near her Our communities need to be made Thank you for taking an active role Fisher House. husband if not for the existence aware of what we do and this is a in the largest and greatest wartime San Antonio has eight Fisher Houses, the largest and hospitality of that Fisher means we need to keep track of our veterans organization. concentration in any single city in the country. 2 7 Riding up the crescendo Giving our support to An open letter about the Consolidated Report Form the Fisher Houses Dear S.A.L. Leader, By Chris Huntzinger Wow! It’s hard to believe we’re about to move into the fi nal stretch of our year. The By Jeff Frain Your Americanism Commission thanks you, not only for the faith and commitment you have dem- National Commander Nat’l VA & R Chairman S.A.L. Bandwagon is cruising toward its des- onstrated, but for your continuous work and devotion to the programs and principles of the Sons of The tination in Houston and the National Convention near the end of August. The idea to provide nearby American Legion. Every Detachment in this great organization has been working with dili- housing for families of veterans be- Many of you have kept the commission informed of your activities this year and I commend you on gence each day to support the Four Pillars of The American Legion. I ing treated in VA facilities was fi rst this. Your participation in last fall’s American Education Week and the disbursement of materials such want to thank you for your labors of commitment to accomplish the goals conceived in 1986. The fi rst Fisher as the “I Pledge Allegiance” and the “Our Country’s Flag” booklets have defi nitely helped to educate we set out to complete in “Forging our Future Together.” House was opened in 1991. many elementary and middle school students about how to respect and honor our fl ag. Your ongoing Seats on the Bandwagon are fi lling rapidly with each passing member- National Commander Chris support of and participation in The American Legion High School Oratorical Scholarship Program ship target date. It’s been a smooth ride so far. Many Detachments have Huntzinger supports many VA&R has once again helped the growth of the program itself as well as the students who participated. Your exceeded every percentage membership target throughout the year. Yet, project’s but one of them closest sponsorship of candidates to the respective Boys State programs will shine even brighter as many of here’s your chance to spring into action as the weather warms. We need to his heart is the Fisher House. those leaders go on to participate at Boys Nation. to continue signing up new members. Commander Chris has instructed But now you have another task ahead of you. If you have not done so, it is now time to report all I have witnessed the untiring work being done by your National Vice his National VA&R Commission of the Americanism activities your squadron has performed since last June. You need to do this on Commanders, National to fi nd ways to showcase, promote the Consolidated Squadron Report Form. This is one of the most important documents your squadron Membership Commit- and support the Fisher House pro- is required to complete each year. Yes, this document is used for national awards, but much more im- tee and Detachment gram. portant is that the report is used to tally all the volunteer hours and donations of Sons across the entire leadership. Continue to To that end, we have been work- nation. Last year, a total of 1,565 reports were turned in. That means only about one in four squadrons support them. Many Le- ing on a book called “Top Secret – of the S.A.L. was in compliance. Your challenge is to see that those numbers are increased. A gentle- gionnaires are eligible to Declassified Project.” The book’s pur- man’s reminder is all that is needed for the squadrons which continually submit the report. However an also join our ranks in the pose is to help inform everyone of overwhelming majority of our squadrons are still not reporting and that is where we need to step up. Sons. JUST ASK them the Fisher House program, what In addition to those who already report, I challenge each National Vice Commander to get reports to join.